Cups of Permanence
by walkingonsunshine83
Summary: Ziva longs for permanence and Tony tries his hand at blending his job and a family. A one-shot for JMHaughey's birthday!


A/N: Happy Birthday JMHaughey! This one shot is in honor of the wonderful Jaime's birthday. Jaime gave me five words: **Hanukkah**, **goat**, **popcorn**, **glass** and **signal**; the goal being to write a fic including all five words. Here is my attempt:

A/N2: Thanks to the awesome Jaded_Repartee for giving this a quick read through!

* * *

><p>December 16th, 2012<p>

Ziva David awoke slowly, the murmur of words coming from her left dragging her into conciseness. She focused on the words, a mixture of Hebrew and English, of which she was unable to understand even half in either language. The cadence of the words was familiar as was the voice saying, or rather, singing the words. She opened her eyes to the familiar sight of Tony DiNozzo whispering in the direction of her expanding belly. The words finally penetrated her sleep-addled mind, "One little goat, one little goat; which my father bought for two zuzim." He continued, more muttering now, "Only in Jewish songs would a father buy a goat for his kid. In America, dads buy diamond rings for their babies."

A chuckle left Ziva's lips, drawing Tony's attention from her belly to her face. He grinned in return and pressed a quick kiss to her temple, "Good morning, sweetcheeks."

"Good morning, Tony." She replied with a smile, "'Chad Gadya' is traditionally sung during Passover, not Hanukkah."

Tony snuggled in closer to Ziva, "Well, I didn't know any Hanukkah songs, besides the one that Adam Sandler sang on SNL in the early nineties and I don't think I want to sing that to my baby. 'Drink your Gin and Tonic-ah.'"

"I have heard that song!" Ziva exclaimed, her face growing quizzical as she considered the other half of Tony's earlier mumblings, "Why do American fathers buy diamond rings for babies?"

"It's a song, 'Hush Little Baby,' I guess it's more like a lullaby, but the dad buys a mocking bird and if that bird won't sing, he'll buy her a diamond ring. It's just one of those songs that everyone knows." Tony let his hand drift over Ziva's swollen belly, his mind spinning. In just over three short months he would be a father. He understood the implied meaning of the song, he would do anything for the precious gift of his daughter and she hadn't even made her grand entrance into the world. He smirked at that; with Ziva as her mother, her entrance was sure to be grand.

Ziva rolled from her back to her side, no longer able to sleep on her back for long stretches, "You are already trying to teach our daughter the outs and ins of American culture? She is not even out of the womb yet."

Knowing that the mistake was most likely purposeful, Tony corrected her, "The ins and out, Zeevah, not the outs and ins."

She scoffed, "Is it not the same thing?" This was an old game they played, Ziva butchered or more often than not, pretended to butcher an American idiom and Tony would take great pleasure in correcting her. She enjoyed the banter and back and forth with him. It reminded her of their first meeting nearly eight years before and the first several months of their partnership. Now that they had morphed into something more than just a work partnership, she took comfort in this game. That despite all of the changes, they were still Tony and Ziva. The shift in their relationship had occurred about a year previously and in a few months they would be parents together. She drew her mind back to the present as she focused on what Tony was saying.

"Since Hanukkah ends at sundown, can we decorate the Christmas tree tonight?" She grinned at the look of childlike wonder that spread across his face.

"Yes, we can put up the tree tonight. We can watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' while we decorate, as well." Ziva knew that was one of his favorite childhood Christmas memories and she loved the blending of their holiday traditions. They had exchanged small gifts each night of Hanukkah, simple treats including chocolate gelt and other candy. Ziva had bought Tony a package of his favorite pens and Tony had invaded Ziva's purse; something he hadn't done to a woman since Kate had flipped out on him for it years before; to discover her favorite brand of chapstick and had given her a few tubes. Tony had also found a cut glass Menorah ornament for the Christmas tree. This was their first holiday season together and they had managed to blend their traditions almost as seamlessly as they had begun to blend their lives.

oOo

Last Christmas, Tony had decided major changes were in order. He'd considered the conversation he had with Gibbs in the basement, about being able to fill both the job cup and the family cup. He thought he could balance both now. He'd had the opportunity to explore something with an old love and a ready-made family but he wanted his own family. He wanted the family he'd created for himself with his co-workers and his partner. Now, a year later, he and Ziva were a true family, with a child of their own on the way. It was a little sooner than they had expected, but they were thrilled, nonetheless. They had discussed children in the early months of summer and had decided while they wouldn't actively try for a baby, Ziva would discontinue her birth control and allow her body to adjust. They had thought it would be several months before she would possibly conceive. They were stunned when just a month after stopping her birth control, Ziva missed her period and on a whim bought a pregnancy test.

Ziva thought back to the morning she'd taken the test. She'd bought the test on her way home the night before; she was reluctant to share her suspicions and was thankful that Tony had stayed late to finish up paperwork. She did not want to get his hopes up and then crushed if this was just her body adjusting to the hormones. She'd gotten up for her morning run and had decided to take the test before she ran. If it was negative, she'd have time to process her disappointment while running before facing Tony. She would have been disappointed, too. She hadn't realized how much she wanted a child until there was the possibility that she was pregnant. She'd once told Gibbs that there wasn't an easy answer to the question of children and for most of her life, that was true. As long as she had been Mossad, a child could be used as a pawn and she had decided that she would never do that to her child as it had been done to her.

This was different, this was her life with Tony, this was a child who would never doubt that her parents loved her and that her crazy mixed-up family would do anything for her. As she'd told Kate's sister, Dr. Rachel Cranston, she wanted something permanent, something that couldn't be taken away. As annoying as Tony could be, he was her permanence. He had proved, many times over, that he wasn't something that could be taken away or even pushed away. He'd found her, a half a world away because he couldn't live without her.

So, with some trepidation, Ziva had taken the test, peed on the stick and waited. She'd started to pace the bathroom before deciding to remove herself from the temptation to peak. She moved quietly to the kitchen to start the coffee, letting the sound of the percolation calm her nerves. She moved back to the bathroom and checked the test.

Positive.

Glancing up at her reflection in the mirror she took in the mile wide smile and tears glistening in her eyes and she moved instantly to the bedroom to wake Tony. He was usually grumpy upon first waking up, but she knew that this would thrill him. She slid back under the covers and scooted over to him as he laid sprawled out on his back. She curled her body into his and began placing kissed on his jaw. She heard the rumble of a groan as he began to wake. He mumbled complaints about her waking him hours before his alarm would be going off before she silenced him with a deep kiss. As soon as she was sure he was fully awake she'd told him the news and thrilled at the incredulous grin that crossed his face. She hadn't gotten in her run in that morning but the celebration they shared more than made up for it.

She had scheduled an appointment later that day to confirm the pregnancy and they had discussed how and when to inform Gibbs of the pregnancy. They had, with some minor disagreements, come to the compromise of waiting until she was eight weeks along before making the announcement and moving her to modified duty. The team had been beyond happy for the couple, Gibbs signaling his approval with a nod and a handshake and Abby arriving to work the next day with a black onesie with a screen-printed white skeleton. Gibbs had gifted them just the week before with a handmade bassinet that was now in the second bedroom that was slowly being converted into the nursery.

oOo

Soft snores reached Ziva's ears, Tony had apparently fallen back asleep while she thought about the baby and their life. She smiled at the way his face relaxed in sleep; he looked peaceful and years younger, he looked happy. He was happy. She was happy. She also had to use the restroom. Of all the subtle and not so subtle changes to her body, the frequent trips to the bathroom annoyed her the most.

Returning from the bathroom, she noted that it was nearly late enough for brunch to be lunch so she moved to the kitchen. She reached for the jar of popcorn kernels and the cranberries she had bought the day before, somewhat impulsively. Tony had explained the tradition of making garland for the tree a few weeks before and Ziva had decided to surprise him by making it for their tree. She began to pop the popcorn, wanting there to be enough time for it to cool and to string it with the cranberries before hanging it on the tree that evening.

As she popped the second batch, she heard shuffling and was unsurprised when a few moments later she felt Tony step up behind her, hands coming around her waist. "What in the world are you doing?"

She explained her plan for the garland and Tony's grin grew. He had liked Christmas well enough growing up, but sharing the magic of the season with Ziva was more amazing than he'd ever dreamed. Together they had done it; Ziva had found her permanence and Tony had managed to fill both cups.

oOo


End file.
